That sucks that someone got hurt.
Why not replace old pins with new bolts? Because one bolt might lead to more bolts? Or because pins are safer than bolts?
Retrobolting should be off limits but yanking the mank and upgrading it with some modern stainless steel seems a little different.

We climbed Gillette Arete on Saturday. Since Pete and Tim's ascent in 2009, there was only one other entry in the register from 2013.
The position and the climbing are excellent and very unique for Oregon. The approach is long, and the route is really only two pitches, but the Muddy Fork of the Sandy is a beautiful place, and the hike was well worth it.
We approached up the north side of the south branch of the Muddy Fork, which required some bushwhacking through slide alder and scrambling up and down the banks of the river. The south side of the river looked friendlier, but there was a lot of water and we weren't too stoked on a creek crossing higher up in the drainage.
I'd say the first pitch goes at 5.8 with a short crux through a roof with a tight hands crack. The second pitch felt like 5.10a - a really nice tight hands face crack eventually leading to the summit. The entire route is out on the edge of the formation with excellent exposure, solid rock and great views of the Sandy River basin. And from the summit, you can take in really pretty vistas of the West Side of Mt. Hood and the Sandy Glacier Headwall. It's a cool spot for sure and worth a visit.

A good friend (well ... ok, its my wife), damaged some finger tendons - not sure yet how bad it is. Anyone have recs based on personal experience for a good hand therapist in PDX who is used to working with climbers? Thx.

Sounds awesome, and hope I can make it. We were out at the Wombat this weekend, and the erosion on the descent trail off of Koala Rock is really bad. A great project would be to build a descent trail with a single switchback to bypass all the erosion along the base of the wall.

The Old Chute - West Crater Rim was in great skiing condition yesterday. Corned up around 1 pm. 150 ft of side slipping off the summit ridge into 6000 ft of bliss back to Timberline. Should be good all week with this weather as long as there's some sun.

Yes, "show up earlier" or "go elsewhere" is a common refrain. But I've seen these dynamics on the ground and while I agree that there is some effort being made to address the situation, let's be frank. This kind of stuff would never, ever be acceptable from a professional guide company using public land or, in fact, from any other instructional outfit that is charging its customers. Who else would even consider bringing 50-70 people to Smith Rock at one time? Nobody, because its poor form and teaches and reinforces bad habits in the students.

Trip: SW Face of Stein's Pillar --> Free Lunch -
Date: 10/5/2013
Trip Report:
Last weekend saw excellent conditions in Central Oregon, perfect for a two-day 2-fer.
SW Face of Stein's Pillar, III 5.10d
This route is ultra-classic and should see way more traffic.
The beautiful pitch 1 finger crack.
Pitch 2 face climbing
Pitch 3 bulges
Free Lunch, Picnic Lunch Wall, III 5.10a PG-13
Pitch 1 traverse
Pitch 2 more traversing
Then for pitch 3-5 the camera got put away as we were focused on the climbing. Pitch 4 is 130 ft. of locking hand jams and crack work on solid rock way above the park. Awesome! Apart from pitch 4, the rest of the route is fairly serious and loose but what a proud line.
Both routes are worthy. The climbing and rock quality on Stein's is more aesthetic. Picnic Lunch Wall is iconic for Oregon. Good times on the tuff.
Gear Notes:
SW Face of Stein's - single set of TCUs and Cams from 00-#2. Single set of nuts. Extra finger sized pieces. 2 ropes for rappel of NE face (watch the knot on the first rap). 12-15 slings.
Free Lunch - double set of cams to #4, single set of nuts. 12-15 slings.
Approach Notes:
Simple

Trip: Fairy Meadow Hut Pow Fest -
Date: 3/16/2013
Trip Report:
The Northern Selkirks got hammered with blower powder during March and I was lucky enough to be tucked away at the Fairy Meadow Hut to enjoy a few days of incredible turns. The terrain, the accommodation and the company all made for a memorable trip.
After two days of skiing bottomless powder in the old-growth we enjoyed a bluebird day and toured up to Friendship Col and then booted to the top of Sentinel Peak.
Then it was back into the trees during another bountiful storm cycle.
And then we got one more bluebird day, which we used to tour up to Unicol.
And then the kids built a kicker.
All in all, a fantastic trip and a worthy destination.
More photos and info here..
Gear Notes:
50 burritos, 4 boxes of wine and three trays of lasagna
Approach Notes:
Try to get the front seat